


Big Tribble In Little Hogsmeade

by dragyn42



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Mary Sue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-07-01
Updated: 2010-01-28
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18905539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragyn42/pseuds/dragyn42
Summary: Many things make Harry go back to Hogwarts his 7th year.  Not a real good summary.  Read it! Its better than it sounds!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Entry for the SIYE Mary-Sue Challenge (2009-03)

Harry was not having the best of summers, but neither was it the worst. His seventeenth birthday was still several days away, meaning he couldn’t use magic, at least not legally, to protect himself from his uncle’s temper. Although, for the most part, he was left alone by his erstwhile ‘family’ as they seemed to realize that he _would_ be able to use magic soon, but they did still try to heap the majority of housing chores on him.

It was during these chores that he started to notice odd things occurring, things that, were he younger, he would attribute to outbursts of accidental magic. He was cleaning up after dinner, and was approaching the table with rag in hand to wipe it down. As he reached out to scrub as a particularly nasty mess of gravy, sighing at the mess, he found himself wishing he could use _Evanesco_. At that moment, he could _feel_ the magic coming out of him, and found the table spotless. He stared at the table for a moment, trying to make sure that what he was seeing was in fact what he was seeing.

It made no sense. He had no wand, and he wouldn’t start learning silent casting until this year, that is, if he even went. But as far as he knew, Hogwarts didn’t even teach wandless magic. It was supposed to be very hard to do, with only powerful wizards like Dumbledore, Voldemort, Merlin or The Founders being able to do it. No one else could.

Several days later, it happened again when he was weeding his aunt’s garden. He noticed a spot in the back that the sprinkler apparently didn’t reach. As he reached to pull out some of the heartier weeds hiding, he absently wondered what his aunt would say if he were to cast _aguamenti_ into her precious garden. With that thought, water sprung from his hand, feeding the thirsty plants. Harry was shocked by the sudden magic and jerked wildly, managing to spray himself with water.

He stared, dripping, in confusion at the garden. Deciding that he had done enough, he made his way back towards the house. He got two steps past the door before his Aunt Petunia started screeching at him about tracking water and mud into her house. He sighed, holding his tounge, knowing that his desire to yank out his wand — which he had taken to always carrying on himself just in case — and cursing her would only end in a letter from the Ministry, something he couldn’t deal with right now.

Once her rant was finished, he angrily grabbed the towel she threw at him and rubbed at the floor, noticing that as only his shirt was wet and since he wiped his feet before coming in as he always did, the floor was already clean. This only caused to make him angrier. Eventually, though, his aunt told him the floor was finally clean and she didn’t want to see him again until it was time to cook dinner.

He made his way to his room where he closed the door loudly behind him. Inside, there was a brown speckled owl waiting, sitting next to Hedwig on her makeshift perch that at one point had been a chair. Hedwig was quite clearly ignoring the newcomer, though Harry was impressed that she was letting the stranger share her perch. The meant the owl had probably been there for a while.

He walked over, stroked Hedwig’s head earning a satisfied hoot, and took the parchment from the other owl who promptly flew out the window. “Not again,” Harry muttered as he opened the letter and groaned at its contents. These things always seemed to happen during the summer. Almost as if each summer was the beginning of a new story, a new chapter in his life.

_Mr. Potter,_

_As your seventeenth birthday approaches and you attain your majority in the Wizarding World, you are expected in Gringotts within the week to finalize your access to your accounts as left to you by your parents._

_There is also the matter of the Last Will and Testament of Sirius Orion Black. You are named in his will, but without a magical guardian, Lord Black himself being that guardian, we were unable to probate your part of the inheritance until your legal majority._

_We will expect you soon so that these matters may be settled._

_-Graspshaft_  
Legal Department  
Gringotts Bank of Greater Britain 

Harry stared at the letter, wondering just what his parents, not to mention Sirius, would leave him that he didn’t already have. The house at Godric's Hollow was destroyed by all accounts, and he wasn’t sure he wasn’t sure he wanted anyplace that the Black family owned, not if Grimmauld Place was anything to go by. And he had all the money he could need in the vault his parents left him.

But it would be ill advised to ignore the summons of the Goblins as they were, in fact, the ones that controlled the access to his vault, and therefore his money. He would need to talk to the Weasleys once they picked him up to make sure they could get him into Diagon Alley sometime before his alloted week was up.

These thoughts must have been an omen, because the next thing Harry heard was his Uncle Vernon shouting very loudly, “I TOLD YOU YOU AND YOUR _FREAKS_ WEREN’T ALLOWED BACK HERE.”

Knowing that could only mean wizards were here, and hoping they weren’t Death Eaters, he pulled his wand from his pocket and made his way carefully down the stairs. He approached to the door to see Arthur and Charlie Weasley standing there, Arthur look excitedly around at what he could see of the house and Charlie standing there, his arms crossed, staring at Harry’s whale of an uncle. Outside the door, their backs to him as they surveyed the surrounding area, he was able to make out Remus and Tonks.

Just as he was sure he was safe — surely the Death Eaters wouldn’t impersonate all these people at the same time just to get at him, not to mention the Blood Protections were supposedly still good — he made to put his wand away when his uncle noticed him standing there.

“You!! You’re having your _FREAKY FRIENDS_ checking UP ON ME! AREN’T YOU!” While loud before, his voice rose to ungodly volumes as his face attained a lovely puce shade. Vernon lunged toward Harry, but didn’t expect the reflexes, nor the strength, of the stocky dragon handler who grabbed his arm in the blink of an eye, causing his own forward motion to induce a popping noise as his own forward motion dislocated his shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground screaming.

“Get your stuff, Harry,” stated Charlie. “We’re here to get you back to The Burrow.”

With a smile and a yell, he bound back up the stairs to his room, let Hedwig out the window and threw his meager possessions into his trunk. He paused in his excited packing for a moment when he got to the picture of him and Ginny sitting by the lake. Colin had taken it at one point and given a copy to each of them. That was before _that_ night. The night that changed everything. And then he broke up with Ginny to keep her safe.

He had spent many an evening this summer thinking about his girl- _ex_ -girlfriend, he corrected himself. Bill and Fleur’s wedding was approaching and he would be spending the rest of his summer, as usual, at the Burrow. That meant Ginny. He was already wondering if he did the right thing, his heart ached at the thought that he wouldn’t be around her. But his mind kept telling him it was needed; he needed to know she was safe.

So, he sighed, something he had been doing an awful lot of, and packed the picture. He took hold of his trunk and went back down to his escorts, glad that he would not have to set foot in this house ever again.

When he got back to the living room, he found Charlie interposed between his father and Uncle Vernon, the later of which was yelling and scream at the magical man who was attempting to use his wand to reassemble the television remote. Tonks had her head peeking in from the front door, grinning at the entire situation. She winked at Harry before letting out a shrill whistle.

“It’s time to go, boyos. Dursley, if a broken remote is all you have to pay for after the years of abuse you’ve heaped on your nephew: Deal with it. With Harry gone, the protections on this house will be gone, too, so you might want to think of getting away for a while. Bad times are coming.

“Arthur, put the remote down and let’s go, or I might have to tell Molly what you were getting up to here.

“All ready, Harry? Good, time to leave.”

Charlie continued to block Vernon’s access to the departing wizards until they were out the door, and then he followed them out, casting a charm on the door to keep Dursley from interfering with their departure. Remus turned to face them and pulled out a rusty, old, tin can. Without needing to be told, the all placed fingers upon it and, with a flick of a wand, they disappeared from the front lawn of Number 4 Privet Drive.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry looked up at The Burrow, and felt for the first time since stepping off the Hogwarts Express nearly two months ago that he was home. He followed the others into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Weasley standing there with an envelope in her hand. She came over and hugged Harry in a bone-crushing hug, leaving him to wonder while he was trying to breath if she was able to hug anyone in any other way, before she finally let go and handed him the letter in her hand.

“Here you go, Harry. Professor McGonagall send this over here knowing you would be here. She hoped it would ensure you actually got the letter.”

Harry took the parchment and opened it, pulling out his letter for the upcoming year, as well as his equipment and book list. He felt another pang of guilt as he pondered his plans with Ron and Hermione for skipping the year to do Dumbledore’s task and wondered if it was right. But he was then further surprised when he realized the envelope wasn’t empty. He dumped out what he assumed would be the Quidditch Captain’s badge, and it was. However, also falling out with it was a shiny gold badge with a glinting ‘H’ on it.

There was a shocked intake of breath from all in the room, and then Mrs. Weasley cried out, “Why, this is wonderful!” and grabbed Harry in another bone crushing hug, further cementing his opinion from earlier.

She managed to let go just before be passed out from lack of oxygen, and then there were congratulations passed around.

Ron appeared, drawn to the kitchen by the noise, a came up to Harry to hug him. “Hey, mate. You’re here. Glad to be away fro- Harry, what’s that?”

Harry held out his badges to show his friend.

“Bloody hell,” he commented.

“Ronald Weasley! Language!” was Molly’s reply, while everyone else merely laughed.

“Ron, don’t you know any other exclamations of surprise?” inquired Harry.

“Um.... no?”

Harry sighed once more and then asked, “So, is Hermione here yet? She’s coming to the wedding, too, right?”

Ron quickly realized why Harry wanted to know about Hermione. They would need to discuss their plans for the next year in light of Harry’s new position. “No, ‘Mione’s not here yet, but she should be soon. Bill and Hestia Jones went to get her not long after Dad left to get you. And I think McGonagall is coming, too,” he received a nod of confirmation from his mother at that, “We’re going to work out plans for Diagon Alley so we can get school supplies.”

If anyone else caught Ron’s slight emphasis on the word ‘school,’ they didn’t let on to it. Their original plan had been to get any supplies they weren’t able to gather from their homes under the guise of needing them at school. They were really going to need to work out what to do, now.

Harry went to grab his trunk and take it to Ron’s room only to find it missing. Tonks quietly commented that Charlie had taken it up for him earlier while he was struggling to breath. The occupants of the kitchen at that point grabbed chairs and sat around the table, falling into some easy discussion while Molly set freshly baked cookies onto the table.

About half an hour later, Hermione showed up with Bill and Hestia, and Professor McGonagall walked in behind them. After greetings were exchanged, Professor McGonagall addressed them all.

“So, Mr. Potter, I will, of course, want to talk to you about your responsibilities for both of your positions. I know...” she cut him off as he was about to interrupt him. “I know that Albus left you something important to do. I also figured, based on your history, that you were probably planning on leaving to accomplish it.”

All three of the present students looked a bit bashful under Molly’s disapproving stare. Professor McGonagall continued, “It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t, well, show up for the school year, but I would feel much better if you were to work out of Hogwarts at whatever the task may be. I would like it if you felt you could confide in me the task, but I worked with Albus long enough to understand why it might not be in your best interests to do so. I would, of course, make sure you had the freedom you needed to carry out your task?”

The trio looked at each other, trying to silently come to a consensus. Before they could though, some one else arrived in the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re all here. Thanks for letting me know,” said a slightly miffed Ginny.

“Ginny, dear. I was worried you hadn’t been sleeping well. You haven’t been sleeping well this whole summer, in fact. When I saw you asleep earlier, I couldn’t make myself disturb you when Harry and Hermione would be here until school,” replied Mrs. Weasley.

“Right,” said Ginny, a slight breeze seeming to blow her hair. “Harry dumps me aside for my own good. Now my mother does the same thing.”

Her hair was most definitely blowing now, and the breeze could be felt.

“Ginny, I...”

“No, Harry, you don’t get to calm me down! You gave up that right!” The wind was now strong enough to blow parchment and light objects around the room. “I’m tired of everyone trying to protect me! Ron tries to protect me from boys. My parents try to protect me from the world. And now Harry, the one person I thought would treat me like an equal, especially after everything that has happened, wants to protect me too! I don’t want to be protected!!”

At her final outburst, a loud cracking noise could be heard from outside. Everyone looked out the window to see that large chunks of the ground were ripping themselves up and one of them had slamming into the outside, garden table.

“My word!” exclaimed Professor McGonagall, causing everyone to turn back around, where they saw Ginny’s hair was now, literally, flaming red.

Harry struggled through the indoor winds, dodging the various flying household objects, until he reached the girl he loved. He wrapped her in his arms, ignoring the flames, and held her close, whispering repeatedly in her ear, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Soon, the winds died down, and the couple was left embracing each other amidst the stares of everyone. Harry and Ginny, however, were oblivious to it.

“Minerva,” asked Molly, shock in her voice, “was that...?”

“Yes, Molly. I think it was. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. One hasn’t been seen since... well... since before the Founders.”

“One what?” asked Tonks, also speaking quietly so as not to disturb the couple.

“An Elemental, right Professor?” asked Hermione.

“Indeed,” said Professor McGonagall. “Miss Weasley? Are you sufficiently calm now?”

“I don’t know,” was the odd reply. “Am I?” she asked the boy in whose embrace she resided. “Are you going to upset me again over something stupid like my safety?”

“No, never again,” was Harry’s resolute reply. “I was already questioning what I did. But, I couldn’t stand it if you weren’t safe. And I had to do something for Dumbledore. But it’s not worth it. Not after seeing you like, like that. I need you, Ginny.”

“Then yes, I’m calm now,” said Ginny.

“Please, come over here and sit down,” requested McGonagall.

When Harry and Ginny reached the table, they found only Harry’s chair was free. Ginny just looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow, so he followed the unspoken command and sat, Ginny promptly seating herself on his lap.

“Miss Weasley... Ginny, what just happened?”

“I was upset. Mum was right, I haven’t been sleeping well. After the battle, and then Harry leaving me — though I understand why he did it, I really do, despite what I said — and then finding that I didn’t know my friends were were, the stress of the wedding preparations... I don’t know, it just all came crashing down and I was angry.”

Professor McGonagall nodded and explained. “Ginny, you are an extremely rare type of witch, one even more rare than a Metamorphmagus like Ms. Tonks here. You are an Elemental.”

“A what?” asked a confused Ginny.

“An Elemental. Unlike a Metamorphmagus, you don’t have any conscious control over your abilities. Rather, they’re a direct product of your emotional state. According to what few records we have of other Elementals, your abilities only manifest sometime after puberty, and only after a period of extreme stress; I think last year counts.”

Everyone digested this bit of information for a bit, and then Ginny asked, “So, what now? What does this mean?”

“Not much, Miss Weasley, just that you will have to be more careful with your emotional state. Especially, as you just demonstrated, your temper. Luckily, we have a solution for that well in hand.”

“Professor?” asked Ginny, which at the same time her parents asked, “Minerva?”

“Of course,” said Hermione. “Harry.”

“Correct, Miss Granger. Would you care to explain?”

“In the book More Than A Wizard, You Can Too, which discusses spells that can be used to mimic certain special Wizarding biological traits, theres an extremely brief section on Elementals. Mimicing their abilities isn’t really to hard, it’s the power behind their abilities that’s pretty astounding.”

“Hermione,” said Ron. “Get to the point.”

“Right. Well, of all known Elementals, there was only one person for each of them that could not be directly harmed by their abilities. Since their powers are linked to their emotions, it only makes sense, really.”

Everyone continued to stare at Hermione, waiting for the rest of the explanation. When she realized that everyone, with the exception of her Professor who was staring at her, had not made the logical connection, she huffed and went on with her explanation.

“There was one person they couldn’t hurt because there was one person they didn’t want to hurt, no matter what.” As everyone continued to stare at her, she cried out, “Really! The one person they couldn’t hurt was the one person they loved more than anyone! While the wind prevented any of us from approaching her, Harry was able to get there with relatively little problem. And look at his arms, her flaming hair didn’t leave so much as a heat rash.”

It was almost audible as everyone finally understood what Hermione had figured out. As one, they all turned to look at the couple in the single chair. Ginny was glaring at them all defiantly, while Harry’s face began camouflaging itself to Ginny’s hair.

“You, you really feel that way about me?” he asked quietly. Though, since the room was silent, everyone heard anyway.

“Yes. that’s why I understood what you did. But that’s also why it hurt so much, and why I’ve not been sleeping. The thought of the year without you...”

“I’m going back, Ginny,” stated Harry, the faces of Ron and Hermione displaying surprise and happy relief respectively. “I was already questioning my decision. But then Professor McGonagall made her offer. And then you... I can’t leave you again.”

“Excellent. Well, this solves two problems for me, then,” said Professor McGonagall.

“What problems, Minerva?” asked Arthur.

“Well, the Ravenclaw who was to be Head Girl is not coming back to school. She was offered an excellent apprenticeship with a Security Charms speciallist over in America. Hermione was next in line for the job, but I really need her to maintain her role as Prefect. None of the other Seventh Year girls from Gryffindor will do. Therefore, with Ginny’s newfound power, she obviously needs to be moved up a year. So, I shall do so and make her Head Girl. That way, she can be around Mr. Potter who can help her with her control.

“So, what shall we do about the security arrangements for Diagon Alley this week?”


	3. Chapter 3

Harry was glad he their group had finally reached Gringotts. He wanted to get all the Will and various other administrative tasks out of the way before they did the rest of the shopping. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall had somehow decided that Mad-Eye Moody was the best choice to arrange security for the outing.

As a result, Harry came through the Floo already disillusioned, in the arms of Ginny. He had to admit, that part wasn’t bad. But the rest of the walk from the Leaky Cauldron, down Diagon Alley and into Gringotts was spent surrounded by the Weasley clan clustered closely around him like a protective barrier while Mad-Eye accosted anyone who dared walk to near their little group. Each time, he would mutter angrily, “Constant vigilance!” before shoving his wand in their faces.

At one point, Harry was so frustrated by his lack of free movement and constant mutterings of Moody that he responded, “Not again” to Mad-Eye, which only resulted in an elbow to his ribs by Hermione and a “Quiet, Potter” from the grizzled ex-Auror.

Once the entourage was safely ensconced in a private office, Moody lifted the charms off of Harry, applied the same charms to himself and went to stand guard outside the room. The party all took seats around the table, Ginny sitting in the chair directly to Harry’s left and sliding it as close as possible. Harry, for his part, was now quiet, thinking about what was about to happen. He was going to find out what he got from his parents and Sirius because they were dead. Ginny seemed to sense his mood and reached across herself to grab his hand, wrapped her closer arm around his back and leaning into him.

Eventually, a Goblin joined them carrying an extremely large stack of papers. He hopped up into his slightly higher chair and placed the stack on the table.

“Do you understand why you are here, Mr. Potter?” the Goblin asked.

“I think so, Mr...?”

“You may call me Graspshaft, Mr. Potter.”

“Only if you call me Harry.”

“Very well,” replied the Goblin with a solemn nod.

“According to the letter, because I’m almost seventeen, I need to learn and take hold of whatever my parents-” his voice hitched, “-and Sirius left me.”

“Correct. We apologize for the rush, but the law is a bit peculiar and did not take you particular custodial case into account. Now, shall we start with your parents’ will?” At Harry’s nod, Graspshaft pulled a sheet of paper off the top of the stack. “In short, your parents left you everything. I will need you to sign this and acknowledge you have read and accepted its contents.”

Harry took the parchment from the Goblin when he slid it over the table to him and placed it so he and Ginny could both read it. Her support meant much to him at this moment. Under formal letterhead, with all the legalese required to state the validity of the document, and the signatures of James and Lily Potter, in a scrawl that matched the handwriting of the former, were the words, ‘Harry gets it all.’

“This is legal?” Harry asked, incredulously.

“It is,” confirmed Graspshaft, who had now passed a quill and inkwell to Harry.

Ginny snorted while Ron and Hermione asked what was going on. After he signed the bottom of the document, he passed it to his friends. Their reactions were similar to Harry’s. Hermione passed the parchment to the elder Weasleys who merely laughed at the document before handing it back to the Goblin.

“So, um,” started Harry, “What exactly is ‘it all?’”

“If you don’t mind, Mr... Harry, pardon me, I would like to take care of Lord Black’s Will first.”

Heaving a sigh, but drawing comfort from his girlfriend — the prospect of Sirius’ will seemed somehow more real to him — he nodded. The Goblin pulled the next topmost document off and looked at it to read aloud. Instead, he shook his head and passed the parchment to Harry who saw a form identical to the ones his parents signed. Only instead of their signatures was the one of Lord Sirius Orion Black, along with the words, ‘Harry gets it all.’

Harry looked at it and then stared at Graspshaft. Ginny started laughing, and Harry looked back and forth between the Goblin and Ginny’s parents before finally asking, “Is this some kind of Pureblood thing?”

“Not really, no,” said Graspshaft. “Both of these Wills were created just after your birth. While your mother signed the form, she was forced to leave and take care of you. Her parting instructions to your father were to make sure you got everything. He apparently took her at her word.”

Harry looked back down at Sirius’ Will which he was still holding. “And this one?”

“Sirius was with them that day,” explained the Goblin. “He decided that a Will for his possessions was not a bad idea, he did not want the rest of his family getting any of his money or things. As he was your Godfather and had no one else in his life, he followed James’ example. At the time, he was not the Lord Black. However, when he died, he was. Therefore, this Will now covers the entirety of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.”

There were gasps around the room as Harry stared at the parchment in shock and slowly signed at the bottom before shakily passing it back.

“Now, Harry, I will tell you what ‘it all’ is,” said Graspshaft, sliding the entirety of the rest of the stack of parchment across the table. “These are the summary documents.”

“Su... Summary?” eeked out Hermione. “As in, not the full statements?”

“Correct.”

“Oh my,” gasped Mrs. Weasley.

Harry took one look at the top sheet, checked the next few to determine they looked the same, and decided that instead of going cross-eyed, he would pass them to someone who could make sense of them. He slid the papers over to Ginny who simply continued sliding them down to Hermione. Hermione then started reading through the stack as if it were the lost library of Alexandria, gasping repeatedly as she went.

“Would you mind, Graspshaft, summarizing was my friend is currently reading? If I asked her summarize, she would not only recite the documents she’s reading, but explain to me the history of whatever it is they say I own.”

“Oh, ha ha,” deadpanned Hermione, who didn’t even look up from the parchment. Meanwhile, all the other witches and wizards in the room snickered.

“Simply put, you are one of, if not the — we still haven’t done the full breakdown — richest wizards in Britain. The Potter family owns several properties around Britain — including the familial Potter Manor house and a summer house on the west coast of the States — and the largest collection of founder artifacts known to exist through various inheritances and the like. Their monetary worth is nearly fifty billion Galleons.”

“Fifty... bil....” breathed Harry, completely unprepared for the numbers provided. “But, my... My vault. That doesn’t look anywhere near that much.”

“Of course not!” replied Graspshaft. “That is the standard trust vault provided any Pureblood scion. All of the Old Families have such clauses in their vault charters. That is only several thousand Galleons, and was provided to you early due to your un-guardianed status.”

“Wait,” interrupted Hermione. “Founder’s artifacts? Inheritances? Is Harry the heir of any of the Founders?”

All of the wizards and witches in the room cast an inquiring eye at Harry before Graspshaft responded. “Not really, but it is possible there are relations. Those particular lines were lost long ago, and as there was no unaccounted for wealth cared for by us, we stopped tracking them. We could, for a fee of course, check our records. We could have something for you by the end of business today?”

Harry turned to look at Ginny whose gave him a look that clearly said, ‘ _Whatever you want. I have you, I don’t care about anything else._ ’ So, he looked at Hermione. Her eyes were bright with the thought of the new knowledge this could provide. Finally, he looked back at the Goblin and nodded.

“Very well. Check back with us later this afternoon,” he said, making several notations in front of him. “As for the Black family, they are nearly as wealthy as the Potters. They own properties all over England — also including their family manor — several in Romania and Germany, and even maintain a home in one of the north eastern states.”

“New Hampshire,” chimed in Hermione. She had apparently read through nearly half the stack of parchment by this point.

“Yes, well. They also have one of the larger collection of books in existence, including one of the largest known collection of works on and about Dark Magics. Monetarily, they have over one hundred billion Galleons in our vaults, but frankly, the worth of the Potter collections is greater.”

Harry was staring back and forth between Graspshaft and the pile of documents in front of Hermione that represented his collected wealth. No one else in the room made any sounds. Ginny pulled him out of his shock, though, when she pushed up on his chin to close his open mouth. He gave a brief smile to her and then looked at the Goblin.

“Okay, so, uh... I guess Ill see you again later. We have to get some things for school,” he finally made out.

“Of course, Harry. We will have the genealogy ready when you return. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Harry didn’t remember a whole lot of the afternoon. The shock he received at learning his inheritances overshadowed everything else. He was aware, however, that Ginny never left his side, and she held his hand for as much was possible. That constant contact was the only real way he had of knowing that the day was passing.

By this time of day, Aurors had shown up for their daily patrols, so Moody didn’t see the need for more Disillusionment charms. He did escort the couple around the alley, yelling “Constant Vigilance!” at Harry — not that Harry paid him any more attention than he did at anything else he was doing.

It didn’t go unnoticed by anyone that, as Ginny was with him the entire time, she would end up buying her stuff at the same time as well. Harry, somewhat absentmindedly, paid for her things at each store they visited. Ginny would ask if he was sure each time, and he would simply look at her and say, “Of course.” Later that evening, he would tell her that he didn’t really remember any of that, but he didn’t mind paying for her at all. Nor did he remember the several argument Ginny had with her mother about letting Harry pay.

After a lunch that Harry didn’t remember, some more shopping in which he apparently bought a cat named Emerald for Ginny along with his extra owl treats for Hedwig, and ice cream that Ginny later assured him had been a perfectly yummy strawberry sundae that she ate most of, they returned to Gringotts for Harry’s family history.

They were lead back to the same small conference room as before, and Graspshaft was there waiting for them, a much smaller pile of parchment in front of him this time. The filed in and each sat or stood in the place as earlier in the day.

“Welcome back to Gringotts, Harry. I have here, as promised, a detailed Genealogical tree of the Potter line.” He slid the paper over to Harry and continued to speak. “You are, in fact, related, in varying to degrees, to each of the four Founders of Hogwarts.”

“I’m... I’m the heir? Of the founders? But what about Riddle?...”

“Oh, no. You are not the ‘heir’ persay. An ‘heir’ involves inheritance and family names, amongst a whole host of other legal minutia. No, each of the four lines faded out, merging though various marriages, and sometimes lack thereof. All of the properties were properly and legally distributed of to surviving family members. There are no ‘heirs’ to be had for the lines.”

“But what about Riddle? Isn’t he heir to the Slytherin line?”

“Sort of. He is heir to the Gaunt line, which was the last known surviving line of Salazar’s, but legally, there is no need to an heir to the line, it was lost through marriage perfectly legally.”

“Oh.” Harry sat for a minute, staring at the tree in front of him. “But I am related to the Founders?”

“Yes. If there were any political reason — which there is not — to reinstate the names, you would probably be closest to Gryffindor, possibly Ravenclaw, though that is very fuzzy. The Weasleys, here, are actually the closest relations to the Hufflepuff line through the Prewetts, and being as that was a matriarchal line through a bet in a card game, that would make Miss Weasley here the next heir.

“No, there are no such things as heirs for those lines. The only thing you might possibly notice is a penchant for more powerful abilities with your magic. All four lines were known to be quite powerful, and while that fades over time, often it reemerges when lines cross. Add to that the Flamels, Aggripa and Merlin, all lines that yours traces back to one way or another — not uncommon in the insular Wizarding culture, though not to the extent that seems to occur in your history — and you find that the convergence may, perhaps show as you enter your magical maturity.”

Harry’s mind immediately went back to the odd occurrences this past summer, but didn’t say anything. He finally looked up at the Goblin and, gesturing to the trees, asked, “May I take these?”

“Of course. You paid for them after all. If that will be all? Or is there something else Gringotts can help you with today?”

As Harry looked a bit lost in though with everything that had been revealed, Hermione answered for him, “No, that should be it. I think he just needs a while to process everything.”

Gripshaft nodded. “Understandable. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions on your accounts, you inheritance or your lineage. Good day, everyone.”

“Thanks, and may you gold always flow,” said Ron.

“May my... what? Oh. Not another one. Listen, I don’t know where that rumour started, but we do not have any customary greetings revolving around money. Or blood for that matter. Please pass that along to your friends? Yes?”

Ron turned a very characteristic red while he nodded an mumbled an apology while everyone else — except Harry, who was still lost in thought — laughed at him.

“Can we please just go home now?” Ron pleaded to his family.

“What?” asked Harry.

“Home?” replied Ron.

“Yeah, sounds good,” was Harry’s absentminded reply. Which was, in part, why everyone was shocked at the sudden popping noise of Disapparation and the subsequent state of Harry and Ginny not being there.


	4. Chapter 4

Charlie and Ron came running into the Burrow through the kitchen, calling out for Ginny and Harry, only to be met by a very aggressive sound “ _Shhh!!_ ” They continued more quietly following the sound into the living where they found Ginny sprawled across the sofa, leaning back against the arm, with Harry likewise lying lengthwise down the sofa — and Ginny’s legs — his head propped slightly up on the lower part of her stomach. She she had her arm not against the back of the sofa under Harry’s arm and around his torso, while she stroked his forehead and hair with her other hand.

Charlie guessed that Apparating through the Gringotts wards, not to mention the ones added around the Burrow for his and everyone else’s safety, had sapped Harry of his strength. He further figured Ginny had enough presence of mind to catch her boyfriend and pull him bodily onto the sofa where she now took care of him. That’s was it looked like to Charlie at any rate.

Ron, on the other hand, didn’t bother trying to figure out what happened. Nor did he seem to care that Harry was obviously passed out while Ginny was fully awake and aware of the situation. No. Instead, Ron let out an angry grunt and made to jump at Harry. The only thing stopping him was Charlie’s dragon-handler quick reflexes and strength as he caught Ron mid-stride and clamped his hand quite painfully on his brother’s shoulder.

“Ow! What the-?! Charlie! Are you going to let Harry take advantage of Ginny like that?!”

He was met with a tightening of the hand holding him and an angry glare from his sister on the sofa.

“Ron,” whispered Ginny savagely, “If you don’t shut the hell up, I will bat bogey you until they come out your arse! I can take care of myself!”

“Oh brilliant, observant, brother. Ron. How, would you say, could Harry possibly be taking advantage of Ginny?” asked Charlie, quietly.

Heedful of Ginny’s warning, Ron answered much more quietly, though still angrily, “He’s sleeping with her!”

Charlie took his free hand and smacked Ron good and proper upside his head. “Do you honestly think that’s what that phrase means?!”

“No! I know what it means. But they’re lying down together. And one thing leads to another, and Harry’s a bloke. Of course he’s taking advantage of her!”

Charlie smacked his brother once more, harder this time. “Ron, you’re an idiot. Harry is sound asleep, how in the name of Merlin’s baggy boxers could he possibly take advantage of Ginny like that? Not to mention Ginny is fully awake. If anything, I think we may have to worry about her taking advantage of him.”

His comment had the desired reaction and Ginny relaxed somewhat as her angry face began to blush and she turned her glare onto the elder of her two brothers. Meanwhile, Ron no longer felt like he was trying to leap across the room in a single bound. Charlie spun Ron so that he was facing him.

“Ron, go to the fireplace, Floo the Leaky Cauldron, tell Mum they’re here.”

“Why can’t you send a Patronus or something?”

“Because if I let you stay, I may have to explain to mom why she’s short one son. Go.”

“Fine,” huffed Ron. He glared at Harry, stomped over to the fireplace and Floo’ed away.

“And if Mum is to form,” stated Charlie, grinning at his sister, “Five... Four... Three... Two... One...”

There was a whooshing sound as the fireplace flared green and Mrs. Weasley appeared.

“Oh! Ginny! Thank Merlin you’re okay!” she cried loudly, causing Harry to stir a little. “Ginny?” she asked, much more quietly.

“I, uh... he passed out nearly the moment we Apparated here. It was all I could do to catch him and get him here on the sofa.”

Molly nodded and approached the couple, swishing her wand a few times over Harry. “It’s nothing. The poor dear is exhausted.”

“Well,” said Charlie, “He did manage to Apparate — or whatever — through the wards at both Gringotts and here. That couldn’t have been easy.”

Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips as she looked down at the sleeping boy. “Mmm,” she acknowledged.

While she was staring at her daughter running her hands through the hair of the boy who was like her son, a series of pops announced the arrival of everyone else. It was made clear to the entire group what had happened. Ron gave up on trying to convince everyone of Harry’s evil intentions and left, loudly, to sulk in his room. Bill, who happened to be at Gringotts and was tasked to help search for Harry and Ginny, Charlie and the Twins who had been likewise pulled from their store to search merely checked in to make sure that the situation was as advertised.

Bill took his brothers and Moody back out to make sure there was no damage to the protections around the house while Remus took Tonks back to Gringotts to check in with the goblins about the situation. The goblins had been understandably worried when one of their wealthiest clients disappeared right off of their premises. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took the time to speak, quietly, with their daughter. They had not had the time to discuss all the recent revelations: her status as an Elemental, her love for her boyfriend, her new position and responsibilities at school, and now all the revelations about her boyfriend.

Molly, of course, spent more time than necessary — or perhaps not — discussing the behavior she expected from her daughter, especially now that they were going to share a suite at school. Only the dim sound of rolling thunder from outside the house made her understand that she was, perhaps, pressing a bit hard and annoying her daughter. She did, however, close her nagging with one very important question.

“Ginny, I’m just worried about you. You know that.” The rumbling went away as Ginny took a breath and returned to stroking Harry’s hair, something she had not noticed she stopped doing. “I just... Ginny, we talking about it earlier, and all evidence points to it, but you haven’t said it. It would do your mother good to hear you say it; to know it’s true. How do you feel about Harry?”

Ginny looked away from her parents to the boy in her lap. She knew how she felt. When he broke up with her, it hurt. She understood why he did, but it didn’t really lessen the pain. The inference that surrounded the discovery of her nature, that Hermione was so quick to see, was true. And her mother was right. She hadn’t said it. She hadn’t said it to Harry last year, nor since they got back together. It needed to be said; she needed to say it. But Harry deserved to know first.

Without looking at her parents, she spoke it quietly. “I... I love you, Harry.”

I was a surprise to the three of them when, mumbling in his sleep, Harry replied, “Love you, too.”

“Mum, Dad, we checking the wards. Whatever Harry did, it didn’t hurt them at aaahhh! What the bloody...?!” called out Bill as he led everyone into the house only to find a golden glow surrounding the sofa that held his sister and Harry Potter.


	5. Chapter 5

The long, trying day wasn’t over. The family had tried repeatedly to approach the couple on the sofa, to no avail. Bill cast several charms over the unapproachable glow before declaring it was like no magic he had ever come across. Even Mad-Eye was unable to see through the glow, going so far as saying that it was the first time ever something magical caused his eye to give him a headache.

The twins, meanwhile, were throwing Muggle toys that went ‘snap’ when they impacted anything with sufficiently minor force — they traded some cheap products for them with one of the their Muggleborn customers. They apparently found the whole thing amusing.

“Stop that, you two!” their mother snapped at them, upset that yet something else was happening to her babies.

“Mum, it-”

“Won’t hurt-”

“Them,” the twins finished together.

“I don’t care if it won’t hurt them, stop it! And stop talking like that!”

“Why?”

“Does-”

“It-”

“Make-”

“It-”

“Hard-”

“To-”

“Understand-”

“Us?”

“Oh for crying out loud,” shouted Bill who promptly smacked them each upside their heads. “It’s not like we have to read it. It’s just bloody annoying, cut it out. Mum doesn’t need the stress.”

The twins looked abashed briefly before they apologized.

“Sorry, Mum,” said George. “Honestly, even if that...” he gestured helplessly.

“Whatever it is,” interjected Fred.

“Yeah. Even if it went away, these wouldn’t hurt them.”

“George and I throw them at each other all the time,” explained Fred.

“Thats fine, boys,” said their father. “Just, not now. Please?”

“Sorry,” they both repeated together.

It was that moment that the glow started to dim. Fred tossed another snapper at it — resulting in a glare from their parents — but it proved that the glow was still solid. They could, however, now see inside. Their position had shifted somewhat. Ginny had managed to slide down into a more reclined position under Harry, her head supported by the sofa arm, Harry’s head now cradled on her chest. Her eyes were now closed and they both wore smiles on their sleeping faces.

Mrs. Weasley breathed a sigh of relief when she saw their chests move, showing they were breathing, and the smiles on their faces allowed her to relax — even if it was only a little.

Inside the glowing sphere, something else was happening.

H:\> _So comfortable._

G:\> _Mmmm._

H:\> _Ginny?_

G:\> _Harry? Wha-?_

H:\> _What’s going on? What happened?_

G:\> _I... I don’t know. You Apparated — or something — from Gringotts. You were exhausted. I caught you, pulled you to the sofa, my family came home... I don’t know what happened after that._

H:\> _Everything was just so much. Ron — I think it was Ron — said we should come home, and it sounded... good. I could be with you, talk things out. Then... I was comfortable. I knew, beyond all else, that you loved me. And I loved you, as well._

G:\> _You love me?_

H:\> _Yes. Yes I do. I love you, Ginny Weasley._

G:\> _And I love you, Harry Potter._

To the rest of the observers, the shield burst into light once more, nearly blinding them all, before it faded from view, spots left dancing in front of their eyes.

“My word!” came a familiar voice from behind them. “This as well? Is it what I believe, Alastor?”

“Aye, Minerva. Bloody thing’s been giving me headache since I walked back through the door. There are things I can’t see through, but I don’t know of anything that would affect my eye like that. Never seen one before, myself.”

“No one has, not in nearly two hundred years.”

“Professor?” interrupted Bill. “What is it?”

The entire audience turned to look at the new arrival for and answer. She tore her eyes from the now visible, sleeping couple and looked at the eldest Weasley son.

“It seems their love for one another is a bit deeper than we expected. They have, somehow — and no one is quite sure the why and wherefores — joined in a Soul Bond. Their souls are now one, joined together. It is a rare thing. I will have to dig through some of Albus’ old books to determine what happens next. But I’m thinking it was a good thing they already have a suite together this coming year.”

“What?!” cried out Mrs. Weasley. “No! They will not be sharing rooms. Not like _that_.”

“We might be able to enforce that, Molly. Then again, we might not. It’s possible we won’t have a choice in the matter. As I said, I need to check some references.”

“And think of it this way, Mum,” said Charlie. “What if, in keeping them apart, you upset or otherwise anger Ginny. What would happen around her? To Hogwarts? To Hogsmeade? Remember the garden table outside.”

His mother growled in frustration and sighed. She was obviously not happy with this yet new development. “So, what do we do about them now?” she asked.

“For now? Let them rest. Hopefully by the time they awake, I’ll have answers. If not, just let them be. Don’t stop them from doing something, or treat them differently just because you might think something improper. It might cause more harm than good.”

Everyone staying at the house nodded at her and she briskly made her way to the fireplace, taking the Floo to Hogwarts.

Molly, upset and not knowing what else to do at the moment, went into the kitchen to cook, something that helped her relax and focus her thoughts. Hermione went up to Ron’s room to try and talk to him, to figure out why he was being so obstinate about his sister and his friend. George and Fred left for their store after explaining they had left Lee alone to run the place, but needed to get back now that Harry was safe. With a last look at the sleeping couple, Bill, Charlie and Arthur went to Arthur’s shed to stay out of the way the loud clatter coming from the kitchen.

It was several hours later when the couple awoke. They could hear the family in the kitchen talking, the sounds of silverware clinking against plates. They looked at each other and smiled, each knowing their love for the other.

Harry tried to sit up, but moaned at the ache behind his eyes. Ginny, without needed to ask, began to massage his temples.

H:\> _That feels good._

G:\> _I’m glad. I hope it helps._

H:\> _It is... Wait, that wasn’t a dream?_

G:\> _Apparently not._ Harry could feel Ginny’s smile with the thought.

“So,” Harry said aloud, though quietly, “I really told you...”

“That you love me? Yes.” Ginny kissed the top of his head.

After a few more minutes, the throbbing in his head went away and he felt once more like attempting to get up. Much more slowly this time, he tried to sit up again and Ginny helped him carefully from behind. Once he was sitting upright, he swung his legs to the floor and moved to the edge. Ginny then sat up beside him and held his hand.

Together, they stood up and made their way to the kitchen where they saw everyone sitting around the table. Mr. Weasley was the first to notice them, and the conversation came to a halt as, one by one, the rest of the family turned to look at them.

“Er...” Harry managed to articulate under their collective gaze.

“How do you two feel?” asked Mr. Weasley as Mrs. Weasley jumped up and ran around the table, waving her wand over them.

“Good? A little tired?” responded Ginny, quite uncertain about what was transpiring.

“Do either of you know what’s happened?” Ginny’s father asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Ginny while Harry at the same time said, “What’s happened?!” fearing something awful.

“Nothing like that,” said Hermione. “It’s just, well... Apparently the surprises surrounding you weren’t over for the day.”

Harry and Ginny looked warily at each other. They had been confident that their newfound love and the comforting ability to communicate to each other had been a private thing.

“You know something, don’t you?” asked Hermione as she caught their glance.

H:\> _Do we tell them? I don’t want to._

G:\> _Then don’t. Let’s find out what they know, first._

“Not, really,” Harry said to Hermione.

“Hmm,” she grunted, obviously not sure whether to believe him or not. “Well, I guess I should ask, what do you know about Soul Bonds?”

Harry stared on in confusion, but Ginny let out a small gasp.

“Ginny?” asked Hermione.

“Nothing real, at least, I don’t think so. Just the things from, um...” she paused to fight down a blush, which caused Harry to smile. She looked cute like that. “From romance books.”

“Well, if you’re talking about the same trash that Lavender and Parvati leave lying around, then you’re right — it’s mostly rubbish. But, there are some grains of truth to it.”

“Like...?” prompted Ginny.

“Well, the binding usually has something to do with a depth of love beyond normal. Soul Mates are inseparable. What little I’ve read says there’s usually some kind of emotional connection, possibly something more, but there’s precious little written about them. All accounts agree that Soul Mates see their bonding as a personal, private matter and won’t share anything about it.”

G:\> _Well, we didn’t want to tell them._

H:\> _It’s personal. I just..._

G:\> _Yeah, I agree. I don’t want them to know._

“That’s all?” asked Harry.

“Pretty much,” Hermione confirmed. “I think Professor McGonagall is looking up some things in Professor Dumbledore’s library. She might have more luck.”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence — everyone seemed to be waiting for some type of confirmation from the newly soul bonded couple that there was something different with them, a confirmation the couple was not willing to give. It was finally interrupted by Mrs. Weasley who dashed back across the kitchen and uncovered several platters that neither Harry or Ginny had noticed when they first walked in.

“Yes! Well, you must be hungry. It’s been hours since lunch and you’ve missed dinner. I was able to rescue this bit from your brothers, so sit! Eat!”

The familiarity of it caused smiles on both of their faces as they sat next to each other, their chairs so close they were practically sitting on top of each other. Everyone noticed their closeness — it would be hard to believe anyone could actually miss it — but no one said anything.

The food was still warm, and eating seemed to cause the remainder of Harry’s headache to flee. Once they were done and the dishes cleared away, both Harry’s and Ginny’s heads started to droop, and Mrs. Weasley ordered them off to bed. Neither one of them thought to argue.

At Ginny’s bedroom door, they entered her room without thinking twice. If there was any thought to the fact that Harry was supposed to go to Ron’s room, it was buried somewhere deep in their fatigue, and covered over by their new bond. They were together, and any idea that they shouldn’t be had been erased forever.

Harry pulled off his trousers and socks, leaving himself in just a tee shirt and boxers. Ginny removed her own jeans, as well as her bra in a move that apparently all girls know which involved pulling her hands into her shirt and then back out the sleeves again, bra in hand. Her shirt never came off, leaving her likewise in a tee shirt and knickers.

Together, they laid down on her bed and were asleep before the tiny bundle of fur that was Emerald jumped onto the bed and stretched out over the couple, purring.


End file.
